A new patent shows the design of a Sony Alpha camera with touchscreen. The original description says:
“An imaging apparatus includes: an ocular-type finder; a display section provided below the finder and having a display screen capable of displaying an image; processing means for detecting where a finger touches the display screen and carrying out a process according to the touched position; and a grip serving for gripping purposes provided to the right of the display section, wherein an angled area formed of a right end area and a lower end area is defined in the right half of the display screen, and the processing means includes limited processing means for carrying out a process associated with a touching operation detected only in the angled area when an eye has approached the finder.”
Source: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2010/0134676.html
Do you believe reading patents is easy? Check out the following new Sony pixel array patent at http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2010/0134665.html. Let’s see if you can understand what’s the key with that invention 😉
14 Responses
Thanks, Sony~ glad to know you are setting standard for coming DSLR.. But I will be even more happy, if you can upgrade the AF (esp AF-C) performance of the camera lines~ 🙂
Red, green, blue, cyan?
Yes, and there seems to be a linear cyan layer that repeats regularly. Any color theorists out there who could comment on how this will improve colour renditions (my first suspicion is that a transitional element will enhance subtle variations – and maybe even improve 14 or 12 bit colours). This seems to be a departure from the traditional bayer filter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demosaicing
This could be the endevour to finally bring true yellow to capturing devices.
yeah deffinately looks like they’ve added a Cyan, also the layout reminds me of the old Fuji Sensors.. Laying out in a Diamond or Hexagonal format actually allows photosites to sit closer together and estimate colour better.
Not Cyan – Patent states that it is a colorless pixel element – From third sentence “The pixel array part has a plurality of color pixels and at least one clear pixel” – You’ll need to skim through the rest of the patent to see the claimed benefits, start with the abstract, then look at Fig 4, skim through the “Summary of the Invention” and the “Detailed Description of the Invention” – That should give you a good sense of what they are proposing. It can be helpful if it works – should be interesting.
1/2 are “C”
1/4 are “G”
1/8 are “B”
1/8 are “R”
Whatever “C” is, it’s important.
A TOUCHSCREEN ON A DSLR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This must me a photographers nightmare .
Only advantage will be lower design and production costs., It may be nice on a NEX toy but i will never buy one of these any way.
Will be seeing less button in future low-mid level dSLR.
not looking for touchscreen as well.
*forward to…
The sensor got the usual R,G,B color filtered pixels, plus transparent filtered Clear pixels.
The system performs a separated electronical shutter for color filtered pixels and for clear pixels.
That means that exposure times are different between R,G,B filtered and the transparent ones..
The results is that color filtered pixels are used most to return data about chrominance, while the Clear ones returns the info about luminance; this is done to try to obtain natural colors shooting even in low light / difficult conditions.
(Usually we got the Bayern pattern R,G,B,G ’cause the human being can see the entire Green spectrum )
This is what I understood 🙂
Typo-> Bayer, not Bayern.
This is a new type of CCD which could attrive high resolution and natual color, as is said by SONY.
New type of ccd? Sony has released this type of ccd-filter seven years ago in 2003. It was also used in Sony´s DSC-F828. As Sharp now opened the “fourth dimension” by adding the color yellow to their LED-TVs, Sony seems to remember that they had a similiar idea a few years ago with a four color-ccd. ;o)